


Unlikely Bond

by Littlepurpleangel



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Unexpected Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 02:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7147973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlepurpleangel/pseuds/Littlepurpleangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Have you ever spent so much time around someone, that you don't even realize you're getting closer then you ever thought you would? Welcome to Gaige's life. The young vault hunter takes up a job to help kill off Handsome Jack, only to be paired up with Krieg. While less then thrilled at first, they don't realize just how much things can change over time. || Rating will change later as smut will happen among other things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic I'm writing, so I apologize about any typos and grammatical errors ^^; This is going to be loosely based off Borderlands 2, but I've made some changes of course. The biggest change is I've made Gaige 20, simply for my preference over her being 18. My roommate and I have been playing borderlands 2 for quite some time now as Gaige and Krieg and some things that happen will be based off our stupid little laughs and headcanons. Feel free to leave comments and such and I hope y'all enjoy!

"I SAID I was told to come here! Now if you don't let me in, i'm going to personally strangle you with my bare hands!" Gaige and the guards of Sanctuary had been arguing back and forth for the past at least fifteen minutes, and she was beginning to become irritated. A light tinge of regret tugged at the back of her mind. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for her to answer that ad after all. A few days ago, while the small redhead was looking for a new job that interested her, a 'vault hunter search' had came across her Echo, and even though she had finally managed to settle into a home, she answered it. The payout sounded promising as well as the guns and not to mention the bragging rights to being able to say she killed off Handsome Jack. So she responded to the woman named Tannis and set out the next morning, armed and ready. However , it was already off to a rough start and over the span of another five minutes, Gaige was screaming at both guards and about to start wrestling with one, before a woman with pixie cut black hair appeared at the top of the watch tower. "Let her in. She's the other vault hunter I told you about." Then, just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. Grumbling angrily, Gaige walked into the now open gates as the guards apologized.

Gaige huffed as she trudged along the streets of Sanctuary. In her mecha hand loosely hung a large backpack filled with a few things, but mostly ammo and grenades, in her flesh one, her echo. She could feel people staring at her as she walked, but it didn't bother her much. The young girl had come to accept the fact that seeing a twenty year old girl who stood no more than 5'3" with a sniper rifle that almost rivaled her height and a rocket launcher that almost rivaled her weight could be a strange sight. She just thought it made her look tough. Having been on her own for the past two years, the weight of her weaponry had become almost a part of her and bored no significant barrier. Her sneaker clad feet drug along the ground as she mouthed the Echo coordinates silently to herself. To say it had been a long journey would be an understatement. From having to leave home and hunt down the nearest fast travel, which was a good several miles away, to almost killing off the guards before they realized who she was and allowed her into Sanctuary, she had to admit she just wanted to rest.

"Here are the coordinates to your temporary living arrangements. There, you will find your partner for this fight as well as a home prepared to the best of our abilities. I'll more then likely be running a little late, so let yourself in and make yourself at home. I'll be there shortly after the guards alert me of your arrival to brief you on what you're signing up for." Tannis' message replayed on Gaige's Echo as she stopped at the metal door to her new home. Tucking the small device into the side pouch of her backpack, she turned the doorknob and took half a step in.

The house wasn't anything fancy, but it was decent. A couch sat in the middle of the living room, a bookshelf half filled with books and decor as well as a radio on a coffee table joining it. Off to the left was a kitchen separated by a bar and straight ahead was a hall with what looked like three doors. Shrugging, she took a couple more steps in only to be greeted by a rather large and muscular hand grabbing bruisingly at her throat. The suddenness didn't give her any time to react, her ammo thudding to the ground as her feet left the floor. With a grunt, Gaige's flesh hand grabbed for her Torgue pistol as her mecha one grabbed roughly at her attacker's wrist, her back now pressed into the wall. "Let me go!" She managed to choke out around her gasps for air. Raising the gun, she took a look at her attacker. A psycho mask was strapped firmly to his face, only revealing a shaved head and single brown eye behind it. His arms were rather large and muscular, covered with straps and crude bandages. Orange pants hung low on his hips as he growled something about blood and was that an eight pack? Was that even possible? Not that that debate was an important matter at the time. Her cold, mechanical fingers dug harder into his skin, though it didn't seem to phase him in the slightest, and with almost a foot advantage over her, Gaige could tell she wasn't exactly in the favorable position here. How the hell did a psycho make it in here? Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Tannis stepped into the home, arms crossed.

"I swear, all you vault hunters are the fucking same. Can't leave you alone for five minutes before you're trying to kill each other. That's your partner, now I recommend you two kiss and make up and cut your shit out or else we're all good as dead." The psycho, who she could only assume was her wonderful new partner, dropped her without warning. As air flooded her lungs, Gaige fell flat on her bottom, her flesh hand moving to rub the bruising skin around her neck. "What do you mean partner? He's a fucking psycho, that's not exactly partner material." The redhead immediately began to argue as the man went to perch himself on the armrest of the couch. "Gaige, he's different. There's more to him than meets the eye. He saved Maya and has only been help ever since. You just have to trust him." Tannis tried to explain, but her words fell on deaf ears. "Trust? I trust him about as far as I can throw him!"

"This conversation is over, Gaige. Either you accept working with him, or leave and i'll find someone else." Gaige fell silent and she simply stared at the other woman. "Now this is where you two will be staying while in town. Rest tonight and be prepared to begin your journey tomorrow. This isn't going to be easy and I can't promise that you, or any of us for that matter, will come out alive and whole. This is what you're signing up for. Both of you understand this and accept this. If you do not, then I expect you to leave now." She paused and when neither of them left, she nodded. "Good. Now get to know each other, we need you two to get along as well as possible or else this whole effort is a waist. Learn to play nice." Gaige finally stood, lifting up her bag with ease. "What's his name? I can't talk to him if I don't know that." Tannis let out a soft laugh. "That's where your bonding begins. He's not a man of many words, but get him to tell you that and it won't be a bad time spent together. Sort of at least. I'll be here tomorrow morning around seven to introduce you to the others and we'll go from there. The kitchen is fully stocked for you two. Bathroom is down the hall, along with the bedrooms. Get a good night's rest. It might be the last good one you get for a while." With that said, she turned on her heel and began to walk out only to pause and turn back to the younger girl. "Gaige, by the way, I better not see any Deathtrap accidents with him. Make sure he knows he isn't hostile." Gaige clenched her jaw. "As long as he doesn't hurt me, there won't be any problems." Tannis simply gave her a stern look before finally leaving. Well wasn't this just great? Stuck on a life or death mission with an unnamed psycho as a partner and a leader with no people skills. This already had a promising start.

Glaring over at her partner, Gaige drug her ammo bag over to the nearest room before kicking the door open with a nudge of her foot. It was a good sized room, a large bed in the center. Setting her bag down on the bed, Gaige began to remove her weapons from her back. Gently, she sat her entire collection down, only keeping a pistol at her hip. This place was supposed to be safe, a pistol should've been more than enough. Besides, she always had Death Trap too. With a sigh, she turned to head back to the living room. Tannis was right and she had to at least try to get along with him or else she was good as dead out there against Hyperion and Jack. "Hey there, buddy. Name's Gaige and you arrrreeeee-?" She offered him her flesh hand for a shake, but he simply responded with staring at her. It was a few more moments of silence before she finally pulled her hand back. "Well, talkative aren't we?" Her voice was sarcastically perky as she moved to sit on the opposite end of the couch. She waited patiently for him to speak up, but he never did. Sighing, her fingers began to mess with one of her pigtails. "Where you from? I'm from Eden-5. Kind of. I don't live there anymore, I live alone now in the middle of nowhere ish." By answering her own question, she hoped it would prompt him to speak up, but a grunt was his only response. This was going to be harder than she thought.

After an hour or so of questions and silence, the redhead finally gave up. It was pointless to try and get more than a few grunts as response and the occasional comment that made no sense whatsoever and was related to gore in some fashion. Fully frustrated, she kicked up from the couch, smoothing out her skirt. "As much as I LOVED that conversation, I'm going out for some fresh air." When there was a no longer surprising silence following her words, she simply walked outside. The sun was slowly beginning to sink out of sight, casting a pink and yellow glow around the buildings. Walking further into the town, she looked around at all the buildings. They looked alike for the most part, pieced together homes for the residents that managed to make it in. However, one building stood out among the others. It had double doors and a large neon sign attached to the wall that read 'Moxxi's'. Loud music blared through the open doors and she had to admit, she was curious.

Wandering inside, she looked around. There were several tables inside, some empty, others with occupants. A bar took up the back wall, a woman standing behind it, preoccupied with wiping down some glasses. She wore a lot of makeup and showed a bit too much cleavage, but she somehow made it work. The woman looked up and tilted her head. "Welcome to Moxxi's, I'm Moxxi. I haven't seen you around here before, sugar. You must be one of the vault hunters." Somehow every word Moxxi spoke was sultry and seductive. Arching a brow, Gaige made her way up to the bar. "You would be correct. Name's Gaige." She hoisted herself onto a barstool, her feet dangling just a few inches off the ground. "Pleasure to meet you." She began to prepare some mystery drink. "You look a bit young to be a vault hunter." If she had a dollar for every time she heard that. "My age doesn't mean I'm not just as good as the others. I've held my own for this long and I can promise my kill count is close to, if not surpassing the others." Moxxi let out a soft chuckle, placing the drink in front of the younger girl. "I never said that you weren't as good as the others. Just making an observation. It's interesting to see someone your age be as skilled as you are." Looking inside the glass as Moxxi spoke, Gaige took a small drink. "It's fun, what can I say?"

"I can only imagine how your life is, kid. Out there on your own with a killer robot attached to your hip." Gaige laughed softly. "It's a living. I do work for hire. Don't care who or what, just as long as the payout is good. I've had my fair share of close calls, but nothing too bad." Swishing around the drink in the glass, Gaige gave a nonchalant shrug. "But that's all about to change. Now I'm in a battle against Hyperion and Handsome Jack and my close calls might be just enough to end it all. Whether it be me or him, who knows.." Her words trailed off as she took another drink. She didn't want to think of that. Not right now. Moxxi simply pressed her lips together, feeling sympathy for the younger girl. Being chased off from home as a fugitive at eighteen and having to make it on your own ever since? That wasn't much of a life. "Well, If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." Looking up, the two exchanged a smile. "Including drinks. Don't worry about paying here." Gaige picked up her glass and hopped off the barstool. "That means a lot. Thanks, Moxxi." With that said, she trudged to a table near the largest window, watching the outside world. It was so calm, but she knew it was just the calm before the storm to come. A hurricane of a storm.

While lost in her thoughts someone rudely bumped into her, nearly sending the redhead to the ground as her drink did. "Hey!" She shouted angrily, turning to see a rather drunken man plopping down beside her. "Hi there to you too, gorgeous." He smiled. "You made me spill my drink and you smell like a beer bottle." She scooted her stool away from him. "Now that's no way to talk to someone who's flirting." He chastised her like a child and her anger began to boil. "Well I'm not interested." Moxxi looked up from the bar, watching the two interact. "Well I am, kitten." He purred. That was it. Reaching for her gun, it was a shock when she felt nothing there. "Looking for this?" He smirked, holding up the pistol. He must've taken it when he bumped into her. "You piece of shit. I'm going to kill you!" She balled her hand into a fist, but before she could even swing, the gun was pressed to her chest. "Nah. I think I have the upper hand here." Gaige froze. While she was fast and her mechanical arm could do some good damage, she knew a bullet was faster and much more deadly.

"Good girl. Now how about we go to my place?" Gaige clenched her jaw tightly "I'd much sooner kill myself then go anywhere with you." Her eyes scanned over to Moxxi, hoping for some kind of help, only to find her simply wiping the bar down as she watched. Great, so much for back up. Right as she was about to take her chances and start swinging at the older man, he was suddenly lifted out his seat by the back of his collar. "LEAVE GIRL ALONE!" Gaige's partner was standing behind the unsuspecting man, easily holding him at least half a foot off the floor. The man was caught off guard, letting Gaige's pistol clatter to the floor. "Look man, I wasn't looking for trouble- I- I just wa-" Before he could finish, the large Psycho screamed once about blood before very easily tossing him out the nearby window, causing glass to come raining down both inside and out. Gaige simply sat in her stool, watching as the scene unfolded. "Dude, that was awesome! Thanks-" she paused realizing she still didn't know his name. "Krieg." His name left his lips as they looked at each other. "Krieg. Thanks, Krieg. You really saved me there. I owe you one, big guy." Without thinking, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around the large man. He tensed up immediately under her touch and began to try and pry her arms away.

Sensing just how awkward and uncomfortable it all was, Gaige quickly let him go. Clearing her throat, the redhead glanced at her forgotten glass on the ground. "Yea, um I'm gonna go grab another drink. Want one?" When there was no response outside a blank stare, she took that as a no and quickly made her way up to the bar. "Thanks for the help." Gaige's words dripped with sarcasm as she hopped up onto a barstool. Moxxi let out a sultry chuckle, washing a couple glasses before setting a new one aside. "I knew you would be fine, sugar. I was going to intervene, but I saw big guy there outside the window and knew he would take care of it." Grabbing a couple bottles of liquor, she began to mix the ingredients expertly in the glass. Tracing the patterns of the wood with her cold, metal fingers, the younger girl propped her chin up in the palm of her much warmer, flesh one. Sensing the other girl falling victim to her thoughts, Moxxi spoke. "Krieg, huh? I didn't know he was your partner for all this. Interesting choice of you ask me." Gaige sighed. "I wish they would've told me. I can't believe they chose a Psycho to join me. Why couldn't they have chose Axton or Maya? Someone we know we can trust."

"Sweetheart, let me let you in on a little secret. Krieg is a great guy and deserves as much of a chance as you do. He's just misunderstood. An underdog, much like yourself. People simply look at the two of you, whether it be your age or size or the fact of what he is, and count you out before you're even in. They chose you two, because individually you are both very strong and powerful people. Together, imagine what you can do. Sure, he has his quirks, but you do too. We all do." Taking several small sips, Gaige looked up at her. "I guess you're right. I'm just- I don't know. I'm- I guess nervous? I've never been involved in something this big." Moxxi let out a soft laugh. "It's understandable to be nervous, but don't let it knock you out before you're even in. Just remember that." Before anything else could be said, krieg interrupted with a loud shout about bathing in blood before smashing a barstool against a wall. Then, as if nothing happened, he sat on another. Cringing, Gaige hopped off her seat. "Guess I should join him."

Drink in hand, the small girl took a seat across from the larger man, pulling her echo to her. "Girl's gun." Krieg picked up the once forgotten pistol from the floor, looking it over. Almost curiously, his fingers brushed over the large G engraved crudely in the paint. "Oh, yes. That's mine. Thanks." She carefully took it from him, reholstering it to her hip. Krieg watched her movements, but didn't say anything else. Accepting his silence, she knew she would probably be the one to do the most talking during their time together, not that she really minded. Going through the echonet, Gaige sipped at her drink throughout the evening, not quite realizing the time as it passed. Eleven thirty was slowly creeping up when Krieg stood up abruptly. "Home." It wasn't until she heard him speak that she finally looked up and realized that the sun had finally disappeared and the moon hung high in the sky. "Yea. That's probably a good idea, big guy." Taking her empty glass up to the bar, she gave a nervous smile to Moxxi. "I guess we should probably turn in for the night. Long day ahead of us tomorrow. Might be the last good night's sleep we get for a while." The older woman smiled gently, taking the dirty glass. "It'll be okay, sugar. Try not to think about it. I'll see you in the morning, seven am sharp."

"Wait, you're coming too?" Gaige looked at her confused. "Yes, I am. Jack and I had a little history together. I know a lot about him as a person that no one else has ever seen. Tannis thinks that what I know will help us have at least a smidge of an advantage." The redhead nodded. "Makes sense. I'll see you in the morning." Running off to Krieg's side, she stayed close to him as they walked in silence to their temporary home. Once inside and the door locked, the Psycho simply said 'sleep' before disappearing in his own room, slamming the door shut. "Doubt I can…" Gaige mumbled to herself before going to her own room. Grabbing a shirt and some clean clothes from her backpack, the small girl went to take a long shower in hopes of helping calm her nerves. Besides, who knew when she would have the next chance to have this luxury?

Time passed both too quickly and too slowly for the mechromancer. Her body was restless and sleep evaded her. Inventory of her ammo, grenades and guns had already been done, a G engraved crudely into the side of each one. Updates and minor repairs were done on DT as well as her mecha arm. All that was left was to be briefed in the morning, but that was too far away. The time ticked by, midnight having already come and gone. Burying her face in her hands, Gaige sighed before pulling the large gray shirt closer to her. It was much too big for her small frame, the material hanging loosely around her, but it was all she had left of home. The day she left for Pandora from Eden-5, she had done it in a rush. With only the bare essentials packed, Gaige had managed to take a shirt from her dad, finding a slight comfort in it. It was all she had left of home now. Despite all the washes and time that occurred over the past two years, somehow the familiar scent of his cologne still clung to the thin material. Closing her eyes, Gaige let memories of her and her father, of a normal life and better times, flood her mind, and eventually help lull her to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaige and Krieg set out on the first mission of many. Will things work out on the battlefield with Krieg and his ways?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy the story! I've actually been writing it for a bit now, so I have about seven or so chapters posted elsewhere, so if you've seen it before, I am the same person. I'll post more chapters this weekend. Hope ya'll enjoy!!

At first, Gaige slept restlessly, tossing and turning every so often until she finally fell into a deep, calm sleep. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long. After what felt like minutes, a loud banging came just outside her door. "Gaige! Get your ass out here, now!" Tannis' voice carried through the hall, yanking the girl from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she grabbed her echo to check the time. 7:15 flashed across the screen. "Fuck! I'll be out in a minute!" Rolling out of bed, she hopped around the room, somehow managing to get her clothes on before dashing out the room. Pulling her short hair into her pigtails, she was greeted by three and a half sets of disapproving eyes. "My bad!" She held up her hands in surrender before going to the kitchen to find food as Tannis began to speak.

"Now that you've decided to join us, we can start. You've already met myself and Moxxi-" she paused, gesturing to Moxxi who sat on the back of the couch. "-this is Mordecai." A rather tall man stood by the door, arms crossed. His skin was darkened and worn by the sun, long black hair pulled back and half hidden by a bandana. A large sniper rifle was strapped to his back and goggles rested on his forehead. Gaige gave him half a wave as she managed to find something to eat. "He's our hunter. He can get in and out of places before they even know he's there and is the best shot around." Gaige looked him over as he drank from a silver flask. "Bet I could give him a run for his money for that title."

"Not the time. Maybe later, but for now we are here for other reasons. I need you and Krieg to head out today." Grabbing her Echo, Tannis pulled up a map. Moving it around until she was able to zoom in on a small area, she angled it so the others could see. "Before we can move on officially, we need our leader back. We have reason to believe that he may be hiding in a place called Frostburn Canyon, hiding from Jack and his forces. This is where you two come in." Gaige gulped down some water before going to go look at the map. "And if he isn't there?" "We will think about that when we get there. You and Krieg need to get there. Unfortunately there isn't an activated fast travel in that area. Take the fast travel outside of sanctuary to the nearest one to that area. From there-" she paused, zooming in a bit more. "-there should be a catch a ride. Get one and follow the road. There should be a man named Roland somewhere in there, he's currently going under the name Firehawk. Not sure why, but that's not important. Once you find him, we need him brought back here."

Mordecai pushed away from the wall. "I've scouted out there. Lots of Spiderants and bandits out and about. Make sure you're armed and be careful." His voice was gravelly and low. Gaige nodded and glanced over at Krieg, who somewhat seemed to be listening. "Sounds easy enough. Fight our way in, find this guy Roland, and come back. I think we can do that." Krieg simply grunted in agreement. "We'll keep in contact through your echos. You two get ready and head out as soon as possible." Moxxi stood up, stretching ever so slightly. "Always stay alert out there. Especially in the new areas. Jack likes to play games and I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow had people out there keeping an eye out." Gaige nodded. "Ma'am, yes ma'am."

Once everyone was up and gone, Gaige had retreated back to her room. Today sounded rather simple, just a search and rescue. Holstering her sniper rifle to her back, Gaige opted for her pistol at her hip, and assault rifle on her lower back. Picking out the correct ammo from the bag, she loaded up with what she could carry and clipped a few grenades to her belt. Grabbing her echo off the unmade bed, she pulled up the specs on DT, making sure he was good to go before heading out to find Krieg.

Eyes still set on the screen, the petite redhead didn't notice that the much larger Psycho was walking past her door and ran right into what felt like a brick wall. With a low grunt, she stumbled backwards, her hand flying up in apology. "Sorry, sorry. So sorry." Her words blended together as she finally looked up. At least he wasn't mad she ran into him. Was he? With only his eye to go off of, she could only hope he wasn't. "Dude, you're built like a wall." Her words continued as if her mouth had decided to do its own thing. "What do you do? Like work out six hours a day? Or were you just born with those muscle?" Forgetting any sort of sense of boundaries, her flesh hand began to prod at his biceps and chest. A small giggle bubbled in her chest. "Hehe, small muscular Psycho baby." Without warning, he slapped her hand away with ease. "Sorry, sorry. Again….sorry." Well, their first actual job together and she was pretty sure he either hated her already or just thought she was some weirdo.

Biting her tongue, Gaige quickly set out behind Krieg to the gates of the town. Eyes seemed to follow them as they moved through the streets and she could only imagine how it looked. A short, awkward mechromancer and a giant Psycho as their only hope. That had to be reassuring. Keeping her attention to where they were walking, Gaige took notice that Krieg had only two weapons, and only one was a gun. A large buzz axe was strapped to his back and despite the wear on it, the blades still looked sharp as ever and she would never want to be on the business end. On his lower back, a shotgun was strapped down, Hyperion painted on it in large letters. How did he even have that? It was probably best not to ask. As the fast travel came into sight, she quickened her pace to make sure she arrived at it first. Somehow, even though she probably should, part of her didn't trust him to use that thing correctly.

Tapping the screen, a large map projected in front of her. Lightly pressing a metal finger to where Frostburn Canyon was, her mind began to work, figuring which fast travel would be closest. "Looks like we're going to Three Horns. That's going to be our best bet. From there, we can grab a ride and drive to Frostburn Canyon." Krieg simply grunted in response. "I'm going to take that as 'Okay, Gaige. Sounds great.' Any protests to that?" Hoping to get at least a light response from him for her sarcasm, she was greeted with the familiar silence. With an exaggerated sigh, she turned back to the Fast Travel. Tapping the screen with her flesh finger, the machine began to work. Krieg stepped in closer to her, crossing his arms over his chest as they were quickly taken to Three Horns.

Shaking off the feeling of the fast travel, Gaige spotted the catch a ride nearby. "Come on, big guy." She waited until Krieg began to walk before she quickly made her way to the large vehicle selection screen. Humming to herself, the redhead scrolled through all the paint options before opting for a purple vehicle. Pressing the finalize button, the vehicle quickly digistructed on one of the large platforms. "Perfect." Gaige chimed in a sing song tone before turning to the car.

Letting her fingers brush along the cold metal, she was about to climb into the driver's seat when she realized Krieg was already in it. "Um, I was going to drive." He simply stared at her. Stomping a foot to the ground, she glared at him. "Out. I'm driving." Her voice hardened when he refused to move. The Psycho let out a low chuckle, settling more into the seat. Kicking her foot at the side of the car, she wasn't above throwing a temper tantrum right then and there. "There is no way I am gonna let you drive!"

This went on at least another twenty minutes and Gaige wasn't quite sure how she lost when he didn't even argue back. Yet, without a single word from Krieg, the redhead sat up in the gunner seat in the end. Holding the handles to the gun, Gaige prepared herself for crazed and reckless driving, only to be surprised. Krieg was going a little fast, but not much faster then she would've had she been driving. "Not bad.." She hummed to herself, letting her grip lessen ever so slightly. For the most part, the drive was quiet, the mechromancer giving the Psycho directions of where to go, and taking out the occasional skag or bandit.

"Just keep following the road. We'll be there in no time." Gaige called down from her seat, their location on the map moving closer to their destination. She had to admit, she was pretty surprised at how smooth the drive was going. Maybe he wasn't that bad of a driver. Then, almost as if reading her mind, the car suddenly lurched as the engine revved. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered Gaige too much, but the fact they were currently going down a twisting mountain road, their speed made her rather uneasy. "Uh, Krieg? Not to criticize your driving or anything, but can you maybe, slow down?" With a low chuckle, he stepped on the gas further. Gaige tightened her grip, knuckles turning white. "Dude slow down!" The wind whipped around her, stinging her eyes as she struggled to breath.

The edge of the cliff was getting dangerously close and Gaige knew by now, the Psycho had absolutely no intention of stopping. Ducking down into the small bucket of the gunner seat, she held onto the sides as she screamed. "Stop, stop, STOP!" The car's engine revved once more before it flew over the edge. "BEEP, BEEP!" Krieg shouted in joy as the car became airborne. Shrieking out in sheer terror, Gaige did the only thing she could think of. Raising her mecha arm, Deathtrap quickly digistructed at the side of the car. Letting go of the sides of her seat, she leaped out of what was surely a death sentence, letting DTs cold, metal hands easily catch her and lower them to the ground slowly.

The car gave a metallic groan, but much to her surprise, it didn't completely shatter as it crashed to the ground. With a whine, it continued to lurch forward, Krieg laughing in joy as it smashed into the side of an ice covered mountain. Deathtrap carefully set the redhead down, her feet firmly planting themselves onto the snow. "What the actual fuck was that?!" She screeched as the large man climbed out the vehicle. "Fun." He grumbled the word, a smirk in his eyes. "No. That was not fun, that was fucking idiotic!" Krieg didn't seem the least bit phased, chuckling to himself as she went off of him.

"Gaige? Gaige, are you there?" Tannis voice interrupted her implosion. Pointing a very angry finger at Krieg, she grabbed her echo and turned her back to him. "Yea. I'm here." She sighed, tapping on the screen to pull up the map. "Okay, so is my Echo wrong or are you two already at Frostburn Canyon?" Gaige pinched the bridge of her nose. "No. We're here. Psycho man found us a shortcut that included driving us over the edge of a fucking cliff!" She screamed into the small device, still in distress over the whole thing. "Why the hell did you let him drive?!" Tannis didn't sound amused or sympathetic. "Well, I picked the car and he got into the driver seat before I could react and he just kinda wouldn't get out. I spent like twenty minutes trying to get him out and somehow, well he won that argument." She shrugged. "Hopefully you learned a lesson here. All that aside, Just follow the map and you'll find where you're going."

There was a hushed argument in the background and the echo could be heard being passed around. "Gaige, keep an eye out. Spiderants like to hide in the ground and will pop out when you don't expect it. There's several bandit camps on the way there, but nothing too bad." Mordecai's voice chimed in and Tannis could be heard in the background, demanding her echo back. "Got it. I'll let you know when we get there." Shoving the device into the pouch on her belt, Gaige started towards the entrance of the canyons. "Come on. Let's get this over with so I can try and get over the fact you almost killed us. Keep an eye out, Mordecai says there's sp-" Her words were cut off as several Spiderants burrowed up from the ground. "Those." Armed with her pistol, the redhead easily helped Krieg take out the Spiderants as they came. Once the small colony was killed off, they began their journey into the snow covered area.

Light snow dusting the ground turned into several inches, each of their steps leaving behind a trail. Gaige had abandoned arming herself, hugging her arms instead as she shivered. The light, occasional breeze stung at her skin and she was sure her feet were frozen solid. Frostburn didn't seem like it was too far away and she quickly understood where the area got its name from. Glancing over at Krieg, she was surprised to see that the cold didn't seem to bother him, even with the fact that he was shirtless. Part of her wanted to touch him and see how warm he was, but this time she controlled herself.

For the first while, their journey was rather boring. Gaige hugged herself tightly, attempting to keep any body heat that she could, making a mental note to invest in at the very least a jacket after this. It was unusually quiet, the only sounds that of their breathing and the snow crunching under their feet, almost as if the snow had muted everything else. After what felt like an infinite walk of freezing cold, a bandit camp came into sight in the distance. "Hey, hold on." She held out her arm in front of Krieg, making sure he actually stopped along with her. Nudging him behind a nearby rock, she grabbed her sniper rifle, holding the scope to her eye. Kneeling down beside the rock, she tried her best to ignore the snow sinking through her thin leggings.

"Hmm.." Moving the scope ever so slowly, she scanned the area. "Not too many of them. Mostly looks like marauders and bandits." A Psycho soon ran across her scope, charging across the area. "And maybe some psychos." Moving her sight up, she could see a couple more in the distance. "I can snipe out the further off…" Her words trailed off as she slowly looked to her side. The Psycho that had run across her sight wasn't an enemy. Sighing, she pressed her palm against her forehead. "Dammit. One moment. One moment is all I ask for, but no. Mister man here has to charge in before I can even get a plan out together. I swear, he's going to get us killed." Pushing her irritation aside, Gaige put the scope back up to her eye, easily taking out any enemies in the distance as Krieg mowed through the ones that were closer.

When the area was finally cleared out, Gaige stood up, dusting the little snow that clung to her off. Dropping the empty magazine from her sniper rifle, she loaded in a new one as she made her way to Krieg. "What the hell, dude?! I was trying to get a plan together, don't just charge in like that!" She chastised the much larger Physco like a child. Turning to look at her, he wiped some of the blood off his mask. "Next time, wait until I have the plan ready. We don't know what all we're up against and reckless behavior like that will get one or both of us killed." Not waiting for the response she knew wouldn't be there, the simmering redhead began to follow the path once again.

The distance between bandit camps and the few Spiderants that dotted the way wasn't what Gaige had expected. By the way Mordecai had sounded when he warned them to be cautious, she had expected many more threats. When they came up to the second camp, the mechromancer had attempted to stay in front of her Psycho partner, hoping to keep him at bay. When that didn't work, as the third one came into sight, she nearly yanked him to the ground with her. After he ran in, guns ablaze, she finally gave up. The closer they seemed to get to the center of the maze of caverns, the denser bandit camps became. If they were larger, Gaige would perch herself on a roof and take out the farther off enemies as Krieg took out the closer ones. If they were smaller, she would grab her assault rifle and charge in with him. Finally, as she began to drag and ammo began to run low, they came to a cave.

"This has to be it.." Gaige spoke as she wiped blood off her face. Cautiously making her way in, it was no surprise when Krieg just ran in, no fear. The entrance of the cave was a long, icy path that slowly turned to dry rock. As they finally approached what seemed like a large clearing, an ammo dump machine was perched along the wall. "There's some ammo." Holstering her pistol, she pulled out her small pouch of money. Purchasing as much ammo as she could afford, she felt a little more at ease. At least if there was a surprise coming at them, they would be ready.

Waiting for Krieg to do the same, Gaige made sure each of her guns was fully reloaded, staying close to Krieg as she did. Once they were both loaded and ready to go, she lead the way towards the opening. "Keep an eye out, there could be bandits in here." At this point, she wasn't fully sure why she still bothered trying, or even talking for that matter, when she knew he wouldn't respond or even listen. When there was no response, she began circling the area opposite from Krieg, making sure her gun was ready. As they both made their way around the area, they met again in the middle. "Looks like we've hit a dead end. No one's here."

Right as she spoke, there was a large ball of light in the center of the open space, a woman with short, fiery hair seemed to appear out of nowhere. She looked at the two vault hunters before falling to the ground. Gaige looked up at Krieg, who looked just as confused as she did. Cautiously making her way to the woman, she half held her gun up. "You okay?" The woman didn't respond, obviously needing help. Taking to her side, she looked her over for any wounds. "Eridium.." The woman groaned weakly, looking up at the smaller girl. "Um, what?" Gaige looked at her confused, not sure what she wanted.

"There's some eridium pieces on my table...I need it.." Krieg watched them interact, his gun lowered but still in his hands. Standing up, she quickly made her way to the table, grabbing the few pieces of purple rock. Taking them back to the other woman, she handed them to her. The strange woman took them, seeming to feel better almost immediately. There was almost a purple glow to her otherwise pale skin before she looked up at Gaige. "Who are you and why are you here?" She asked softly, seeming to still be rather weak.

"Names Gaige. That over there-" she gestured to the large Psycho. "-is Krieg. He's my partner and we're vault hunters. We were sent here to look for Roland, who I'm assuming is not you." The mechromancer stood up, offering the other redhead a hand to help her up. "You would be correct. I'm Lilith and Roland used to be here. I guess it's safe to say that Tannis sent you." Gaige nodded. "Yea, how'd you know?" Before Lilith could respond, there was distant shouting, followed by bandits beginning to filter in. "Shit, they found me. We've got to get them out of here." Lilith looked at Krieg and Gaige, hoping for their help. Krieg was way ahead of them, charging into the growing number of bandits. Gaige helped Lilith move towards her bed, sitting her so that she could take cover behind it before grabbing her sniper rifle. "We got that covered."

As Krieg slaughtered the bandits that made it in, Gaige took out most of the ones trying to come in. The growing number of bodies by the door helped slow the incoming number, helping make it much more manageable. "Reloading!" Gaige called out as she dropped the empty magazine. Reloading her gun, the sound of gunshots slowed to a stop in the background. "Is it clear?" Raising her scope, she turned her attention to the door. After a few moments of no movement, there was a sudden screaming. "What the hell?"

Lowering her gun, Gaige looked for her partner, only to find him screaming and running across the small area. Before she could ask or even wonder what was happening, two very large, badass psychos quickly began closing in on him, chasing after him quickly. "Summon Deathtrap, woman!" Krieg screamed as he ran faster. Gaige couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles. Seeing a big Psycho, chased by even bigger psychos was a sight worth seeing. Raising her mecha arm, the large robot digistructed at her side. "Sick 'em boy!" She giggled out the words, Deathtrap quickly going after the badasses. It didn't take long for them to join the body count, just as a beeping came from her echo. "Good boy." Gaige smiled as DT disappeared.

Krieg glared at Gaige as he made his way towards Lilith, making sure she was okay. "My bad, bro. I didn't even see them." The petite redhead let out another giggle, the mental image one that she was going to cherish. "Lady okay?" Krieg asked Lilith, helping her off the ground where she was taking cover. The siren nodded. "Yea, I'm fine. Roland might not be though. Those bandits that came in here, their clan is who took him and why he isn't there. I was trying to get him back, but it didn't work in my favor."

"Gaige? Gaige are you there?" Tannis' voice suddenly came over the echo. Grabbing the device from its pouch on her belt, she tapped the screen. "Yea, I'm here. Sorry for a delayed response, we ran into some-" Before she could finish, Tannis interrupted. "Is Roland there?" This time Lilith spoke up. "Sorry, but he isn't. Only me." There was a pause. "Lilith? What are you doing there?" Gaige handed the siren her echo. "Long story short, I was told it would be best to hide out from Jack and did so. Roland was here with me, but we were ambushed by a group of bandits and they took him. I tried to get him back, but there's too many of them. I'll need help."

"The vault hunters will help, but until we get a plan together, I need the three of you to come back to Sanctuary. Especially you, Lilith. Without Roland, we have no leadership and you're the next in line. Without you, we don't know where to look next." Gaige looked up at the siren who seemed to hesitate. After a moment, she nodded. "I'll go back with these two. I trust that they can get me there safe." Gaige reached out for her echo. "Yea, we'll get her there safe. You can count on us!" She was a little overly cheery, but with her body still rather cold, she was just ready to get out of there and to her blankets.

"Be careful." With that said, Tannis ended their communication. "Yea, yea. So, let's get you out of this icy hell and back to Sanctuary before I get Frostburn on places I didn't know you could get Frostburn on." Gaige grabbed her pistol and began heading towards the door. Lilith followed closely behind her, Krieg trailing from behind. "So, I'm assuming you have a ride somewhere out here, right?" Gaige didn't say anything, instead making a light 'mmmm' sound. "Are you serious?!" Lilith didn't sound amused.

"Well, it's not MY fault. Big guy back there decided it would be fun to drive around like a maniac and sorta drove it off a cliff. I mean, it's by the entrance to the caverns, but it's mostly destroyed and banged up." The mechromancer tried to play it off as casually as she could, but by the siren's expression, she knew it wasn't working. "So we're going to have to walk all the way back?"

Gaige grabbed her echo, pulling up the map. "Well, there should be a fast travel somewhere out here, we just need to activate it." Following a few paths with her finger, she finally found it. "It's this way. Should still be cleared out too, so it should be easy." Taking the lead once again, Gaige drug her feet through the snow and along a nearby path. Luckily, she was right and the fast travel wasn't too far and along the way they ran into no sort of trouble. At least until they got to the fast travel.

Fifteen minutes after their arrival, Gaige was kicking and yelling at the machine. She couldn't get it to turn on and was on the verge of just destroying it. "You sure you don't need help?" Lilith was watching, unamused as she leaned against a nearby cave wall. The small redhead glared at her. "/who/ built the giant killer robot?" Lilith rolled her eyes. "You did, oh mighty one." Gaige began to press the non working buttons over and over again. "Exactly. So leave it to the electronics genius. Okay?" The siren let out a loud scoff before mocking her.

"Why are you being such a brat? I don't see you getting us home." Gaige stepped back to glare at Lilith as she spoke. "I offered to help at least a dozen times, but you always start on about how you're 'the tech genius' and can handle it. So I just step back and let you fuck around and be happy." The two girls began to argue, nearly at each other's throats when Krieg stepped away from where he was keeping watch. Walking up to the fast travel, he looked it over before flipping a small switch on the side. With that, it quickly sprang to life.

Gaige cut herself off, turning to look at the machine as it turned on. Sighing, she just shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Over it. So over it. Thanks, dude." Without another word, she pulled up the map and selected Sanctuary. The trio were quickly taken to just outside the town. Refusing to look at Lilith, or interact with her for the time being, the younger girl grabbed her Echo. Tapping the screen a few times, it rang before Tannis' voice chimed in with a 'what?'. "We're here. Where are we taking Princess to?" Gaige marched forward and through the opening gates, Krieg and Lilith following close behind.

"Bring her to the Crimson raiders HQ. I'll send you the coordinates." Rolling her eyes, Gaige pulled up the map on her small device, leading them to the marked spot. The building was large, at least two floors. The first floor was mostly open, a large table taking up a good chunk of space, stairs off to the side. Tannis stood from where she was sitting, walking over to the siren. "Lilith, it's good to see you. We have a lot to talk about." The fiery haired woman nodded. "That we do. We have to get Roland back. Let's talk."

Tannis turned to the vault hunters, Krieg standing with his arms crossed as Gaige paced back and forth. "You two are free to go for now. We will be in contact with you the moment we get a plan together." Gaige didn't even wait for more. "Great. Bye!" With Krieg close behind, she quickly made her way back to their house, closing the door behind them. Kicking off her shoes, she went to her room to burrow into her blankets and finish defrosting from Frostburn Canyon. "If you need me, just come in. I have some relaxing to do."


End file.
